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FTC Taking 'Seriously' Request To Probe Firearms Sites


The Federal Trade Commission today acknowledged it has received a written request from a new gun-safety organization asking the agency to expand its post-Sept. 11 probe of false and misleading Web advertising claims to include firearms Web sites.
The agency said today it is giving the matter "serious consideration."

"We take the letters that we receive very seriously, and we're giving it serious consideration," said FTC spokesman Derick Rill. "If asked to respond we will."

A project under the Alliance for Justice, Gun Industry Watch said in its letter that gun makers should be held to the same standards as Web sites that claim to offer protection from biological and nuclear agents.

"By the FTC's own guidelines, the claims of gun makers that their products will enhance safety and security are neither true nor can they be substantiated by evidence," said Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron. "It is the FTC's responsibility to protect American consumers by investigating misleading and dangerous advertising by gun makers and retailers."

Alliance for Justice spokeswoman Julie Bernstein said that the group does not believe in outlawing all guns or firearms, but said that gun manufacturers and sellers, as well as the National Rifle Association and other lobby groups, should crack down on firearms merchants who make false claims about their products as potential safety devices against post-Sept. 11 threats.

The organization cited the case of one company, Ithaca Gun, which advertises a "homeland security rifle," saying that "It is produced to protect our homes, our neighborhood and our nation throughout this dark time in our history."

A perusal of Ithaca Gun's Web site shows that the homeland security rifle is, in fact, a shotgun, the Ithaca Gun Model 37, which it says was used by U.S. troops both in Korea and Vietnam.

"In every respect, these new Homeland Security Model shotguns are up to the demanding tasks that lay before us as a nation," the site advertises.

Ithaca Gun representatives were not available for comment